A joy ride that will take readers from crying to gripping their seats and back again.
A New Zealand teen is dragged from 1996 into the future by a shady company in this work that expands on a popular webcomic.
When Kieren Mittal, who is cued as being of Asian Indian descent, learns that his mother plans to send him to stay with his aunt for the summer so he can work and not just sit around playing video games, he impulsively decides to go visit his pen pal. After tripping and hitting his head on the bus, however, he wakes up in the year 2122. Ren discovers that he’s among 50 subjects transported through time by Chronotech to assist University of Time Expansion students with their history projects. After five months, the subjects’ memories will be wiped, and they will be returned to the moments from which they were taken. Knowing he won’t remember their time together, Ren struggles with growing closer to Mars, the White boy who will be studying him. Meanwhile, fellow subject Phoebe, Ren’s roommate, receives dire warnings from former student Jia about the experiment’s risks and Chronotech’s cover-up of a death. Ren and Phoebe must investigate to find the truth. Ren and Mars’ developing relationship is both adorable and full of angst, while rising tension mounts into a stunning twist ending. The attractive artwork is reminiscent of classic comics and features interestingly varied panels and a charmingly expressive, queer, and racially diverse cast.
A joy ride that will take readers from crying to gripping their seats and back again. (Graphic science fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-358-38169-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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